Illegal drug market is booming, says UN watchdog

Report says production of heroin and cocaine is increasing as campaigners call for better measures to tackle cartels

The Guardian (UK)Thursday, June 22, 2017

The world’s illicit drug economy is “thriving” owing to large increases in the production of heroin and cocaine and a wider spectrum of synthetic substances on the market, the UN’s drugs watchdog said. Global seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) – which include methamphetamine, amphetamine and MDMA – reached a five-year high of 191 tonnes in 2015, according to a report from the UN office on drugs and crime based on the latest figures available. The report says: “Overall, drug trafficking seems to have increased slightly in 2015 and some drug markets, particularly the cocaine and synthetic drugs markets, appear to be thriving.”

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UN Drug Control

In 2011 the 1961 UN Single Convention on drugs will be in place for 50 years. In 2012 the international drug control system will exist 100 years since the International Opium Convention was signed in 1912 in The Hague. Does it still serve its purpose or is a reform of the UN Drug Conventions needed? This site provides critical background.